Who's the Beast, Brown vs Board; Same and Different 3

Same and Different
The concept of same and different is to inspire children to have a  greater awareness of other people, especially those who are different.  At the same time we want to be aware and celebrate our own uniquenes.  Hopefully barriers and stereotypes that divide people can be overcome so that we embrace similarities and appreciate differences. 


Who's the Beast, by Keith Baker: Younger

(One of my favorite books; the illustrations are amazing!)

A friendly tiger goes through the jungle while other animals scatter at the sight of the beast.  When the tiger sees himself in a river, he sees only himself, no creature.  Could he be the beast?  The tiger goes back through the jungle retracing his steps, and points out similar features he has with the other animals.  In the end the story shows the many ways the animals are alike.

Art Activity

Scroll down to the bottom of the post and copy the tiger stripe background on a piece of orange construction or printer paper.  Copy the printouts in colors that match the animals; bee yellow, frog green…  Have children glue animals and 2 leaves on the tiger striped background.

Brown Vs Board: Older

In May of 1954, the U. S. Supreme Court made a decision on a famous case called Brown versus Board of Education.  The decision was to end segregation in schools.  Before this decision children went to schools based on the color of their skin.  Black students went to all black schools and white students went to all white school.  A civil rights organization called the NAACP tried to register black students in all-white schools throughout the South.  One of the schools was Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

On September of 1957, nine black students showed up at Central High School which had been an all white school.  They were met by white protesters.  The governor of Arkansas even sent the National Guard to keep the black children out of the school.  The soldiers blocking the teenagers from going to school made national headlines.  President Dwight Eisenhower over road the governor decision and removed the soldiers.

The nine students still had to face hundreds of protesters, which were mostly parents of white students who didn't want the black students to attend the school.  Federal troops were sent in to protect the black teenagers, but they still encountered physical and verbal violence throughout the year.

The next year, the governor closed all the public schools rather than allow integration to continue.  The Supreme Court ultimately made Arkansas reopen Little Rock's schools to all children.

Art  Activity

Copy and enlarge the butterfly outline at the bottom of the post.  Print out four colors of butterflies and enough for everyone to have one whole butterfly.  Also print out extra butterflies; cut them in two lengthwise and then crosswise to have four separate wings.

Have a discussion about how boring the butterfly is with just the one color, and how wonderful it is to integrated or unite, when other colors are added to the butterfly.  After the discussion allow children to choose different colors of wings to glue on to their butterfly.  Cut out the body and glue on.  Supply glue, glitter or other decorations to adorn the butterfly.  Admire how colorful and unique each butterfly is now in its multicolor state; similar to multicultural.  


Brown vs Board         

Whose The Beast